Sunday, 26 August 2012

One of the joys and frustrations of reading comics is that
no character belongs to one writer. Depending on their popularity and the internal
politics of whatever company owns them, any character is likely to appear across
a whole number of titles, either headlining their own spin-offs or appearing as
guests in others. This can make for a continuity nightmare – good luck trying
to keep up with heroes as popular as Wolverine or the X-Men – but it also
means you get to see established characters through the filters of other
writers and artists. Sometimes this works, bringing a fresh and interesting
take on an established figure, sometimes it doesn’t, leaving you frustrated and
annoyed at how ‘Batman would never do that’ (or Superman or the Hulk or whoever…)

As someone who now only dips in and out of comics, I’m
pretty much resigned to only ever having a vague grasp on continuity: long
years of being an X-Men fan have left me perfectly able to enjoy several
different universes where Jean Grey is alive/dead/married to Scott/not married
to Scott/any other variant thereof all at the same time; now when I read a book I’m happy if it
works with its own internal rules, and don’t worry about where or how it fits into the
larger picture. I’m also fairly flexible on characters – of course I prefer
certain writers’ takes on a personality, but it takes a pretty big shift for me
to actually think, whoa, hang on. (DC’s decision to turn Starfire into a
lobotomised sex toy is a prime example).

I’ve blogged before about my love for The Authority
(particularly the pairing of Midnighter and Apollo) and my disappointment about
its new incarnation as Stormwatch. Sure, the old series could be patchy – my favourite
runs were all early in the series, when Warren Ellis and then Mark Millar were
helming, as I think both of these writers are great at team dynamics (it’s
probably not a coincidence that both did sterling work on the X-Men) – but the
characters were always interesting, and the relationship between Apollo and
Midnighter I just loved. I loved the fact that it was a long-term relationship –
the pair married and adopted a child – and that it always felt real, no matter
the insanity of the story around it. So I was always going to be slightly
disappointed in DC’s decision to dissolve the marriage in the reboot; their
argument was it would be fun to see the pair meet and get together, which isn’t
a terrible idea, though I think it makes them less interesting, and less
groundbreaking (especially at a time when gay marriage remains a political hot
button).

So, I went into Stormwatch with doubts, but ready to be
persuaded. Alas, so far I’ve seen nothing to dispel my doubts. 12 issues into
the run, the book seems hamstrung by clunky writing and a lack of direction:
the old Authority stood outside the DC universe and now, making it fit into a world
where no one, not even other heroes, knows they exist, seems to have left the
writers struggling for stories. But what breaks my heart most is what they’ve
done to Apollo and Midnighter. Sure, they’ve finally got rid of Apollo’s Fabio
hair – never a good look – but he’s now, frankly, kinda whiny. Midnighter is SO
ENIGMATIC AND TORTURED, and, unforgivably, his nurturing love of children –
always a nice contrast to his homicidal tendencies – has been thrown out, as
one issue saw him quite willing to kill the young Jenny (as this is the character
who was his adored daughter inthe
earlier incarnation, this seems especially mean-spirited.) His relationship with
Apollo seems to have developed at a rate of knots despite being the least convincing
flirtation in history (his initial chat up routine seemed to consist of
completing Apollo’s sentences – which I’m sure we’d all find charming). (Though, in fairness, at least they just addressed the controversial chin spike issue in quite an entertaining way... )All in
all, I was ready to give up, seek solace in my back issues and leave the characters
alone until the next reboot came along and hopefully got a writer who knew what
to do with them.

The new Stormwatch: featuring Apollo's new haircut

Then a Twitter friend, Kirke, who shares my Stormwatch
despair pointed me to this month’s issue of I, Vampire. A run by Joshua Hale
Fialkov and Andrea Sorrentino (neither of whom, I admit, I have heard of), this book this
month features a cameo from Apollo, Midnighter and Jack – and it’s great. The interplay
between the three characters as teammates and the chemistry between the two lovers is both
subtle and fun (clumsily and frequently spelled
out in Stormwatch, lest you accuse the writers of shying away from the gay,
here it gets a cheeky nod as Midnighter checks out his BF’s arse when he flies
off – well, you would, wouldn’t you? – but the writers see no need to lay it on
with a trowel.) Plus Apollo is actually smart and charming in this, not the
angsty whiner of the main title. (“Apparently
I’m vampire proof. The things you learn.” Or “Sorry, they bought both the new
guys. If it helps, we both punch really, really hard.”)

The heterosexual relationship I think that is closest to the spirit of Apollo/Midnighter
is, perhaps not coincidentally (again, the Ellis/Millar connection), Emma Frost
and Cyclops – the cool, detached snark of badgirl-turned-good Frost meets
downhome, honest-to-goodness, slightly too serious heroicness of Scott, but
underlaid with respect, love, and the fact that they both know they can kick
ass when the chips are down. These characters are Batman/Superman analogues,
remember: you think if those guys
dated it wouldn’t be fun? I, Vampire clearly knows it would be: this issue reminded
me of why I loved these characters – and it broke my heart a little that the
currently don’t have a title that does them justice. So, c’mon, DC; remember
why these guys work. Make them fun again. And if you can’t manage that, give
them a lot of guest slots.

Friday, 24 August 2012

So, another couple of fun things on the Dark Dates front this week: new digital imprint Red Button Publishing gave me a mention on their website, as Caroline Goldsmith, one of the founders, has been helping me market my book (and, of course, designed the cover for this and the next one). I also did a fun piece over at Daydrmzzz: an interview in character as Cassandra Bick. You can check it out here.

Meanwhile, over at Unleash the Fanboy, I wrote about my favourite non-geeky shows - yup, Leverage, Burn Notice, Big Bang Theory among others...

Monday, 20 August 2012

Another update on the promotional rounds I have been doing
for Dark Dates – and again an illustration of the many different types of blogs
out there, and the kind of information that they like to have when promoting a
book, so the types of things you need to consider when contacting them.

Over at the Jeep Diva, I got a straightforward review on the
back of sending them a copy on spec, while Laurie’s Thoughts was an interview
and excerpt.I’m starting to find
excerpts a great selling point, as several people have told me they downloaded the
book after reading some of it on a blog post. I actually struck gold in
contacting Laurie – she’s very active in the blogging community and sent me a
tremendously helpful initial email, which included lots of tips on how I could
get in touch with other bloggers, writing groups etc, and my interview with her
has been repeated retweeted by people in her network, so I would heartily
recommend indie authors getting in touch.

I also did an interview with Diana at Offbeat Vagabond, and
Barbara at Reviewer Extraordinaire – as part of the Risque Reviews network,
Barbara’s blog had a slightly different focus, but it was fun to bring out the
sexier side of the book – and the excerpt in this post was a little bit
steamier than the others I have posted!

I encountered Morgen Bailey through a writers’ group on
LinkedIn, and she’s another author/blogger who is keen to support indie authors
and has a strong network behind her, which saw my post repeatedly retweeted. In
keeping with her site, instead of just talking about myself – again – I did a
post on the 5 questions you should ask before you self-publish. She gets very
booked up – this was scheduled in months ago – but she is a hugely prolific
blogger, so definitely worth getting in touch.

Monday, 13 August 2012

So, apologies for radio silence but have been on a much needed holiday to the lovely island of Jersey this week - which really excelled all expectations, leaving me knackered, slightly sun kissed but very happy. But of course in my absence the promotional engine for Dark Dates churns on - this week is all about working on the sequel, so it's nice to feel that the first one is getting out there and getting some attention. (Huge thanks, of course, to everyone who has bought it, and especially those who have taken the time to review it/comment on it online - it's really much appreciated.)

Tuesday, 7 August 2012

So, another
week, another batch of blog posts, as I am trawling the internet trying to rack
up sales for my book, Dark Dates. I must admit when I started doing this, I
found it quite daunting - you're basically sending a whole load of emails going
'like me! like me!' - and there's a reason I never got into sales. But it's
actually turned out to be a lot of fun: most of the bloggers and reviewers I
have connected with have been lovely, which shouldn't, I suppose, be
surprising, since we come from the same place - a love of books and, often, a
love of paranormal/urban fantasy fiction. Even those reviewers who haven't
liked the book - which, obviously, I respect, as no book will be for everyone -
have tended to be 'this is not my thing, maybe you'll like it' rather than 'why
does this woman think she can write?!', which means a lot to this thin-skinned
writer's ego.

So below
I'm including a round up of guest posts, interviews and reviews - but the
really exciting news for me this week is that Dark Dates now has a trailer, c/o
my lovely cover designer Caroline Goldsmith. Over to Caroline on why she
thought it was worth doing...

Tracey and I talk about books a lot. And recently our discussions have
all been about “Dark Dates” and how best to market it. Marketing self-published
books is a maze that all authors need to navigate. Having worked in the
publishing industry for more than a decade, I know that there is no magic key
to success when it comes to book promotion. What I do know is that the more
ways there are to find out about a book, the more chance there is of someone
picking up on it.

As the first book has garnered a haul of good reviews, and part two in
the series is due for publication later this year, I thought now was the ideal
time to launch a book trailer. The London landscapes in the video are all made
from photographs I took from the top of my old building on the river.

You can watch the trailer here, and read
Caroline’s post about it here (which also includes details of how to contact
her if you think she can help you!)

Thursday, 2 August 2012

Readers will know I'm a long term fan of Stella My Star, who does amazing charm bracelets. I love this slightly creepy zombie charm bracelet (yup, that's a spine!) - check out her Facebook Page for more lovely things to buy...

So, my lovely friend Mrs Gold has been working hard on the cover for the new book (which I shall reveal nearer the time...) but she also created this lovely 'teaser' image. You can read her post on it here.

Disclaimer and spoiler notice

Obviously, the title is ironic: or maybe not, since I actually do have the body of someone who sits around watching DVD boxed sets all the time.

I can't take any responsibility for any external links (what am I, your mother?) Please note this is a UK site - I will refer to shows that have been broadcast on UK digital TV only. If I talk about films that are still in the cinema, I will flag any spoilers, but anything on DVD is fair game. Please do not add spoilers to this site, or flag them up if you do. Thanks! Also, if Jensen Ackles ever sees this: I'm sorry. I'm joking. Really.